1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a document preparation and delivery system, and more particularly to a system and method for preparing and sending documents via facsimile to a plurality of customers, each customer document having a plurality of unique data values.
Although applicable for many applications, the present invention is particularly suitable for stock brokerage and security firms and will be described in that connection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many businesses require sending information to clients on a regular basis and in a very timely manner. For example, in the stock brokerage and securities area, a brokerage firm is required by law to send confirmation of stock trades to their clients in less than one calendar day. Because the cost of overnight mail carriers is prohibitive, other options such as facsimile delivery are used.
However, it is extremely time consuming for a firm to prepare and send via facsimile a large number of documents to a plurality of different telephone numbers. In one system, a facsimile vendor stores a customer form. Then the securities firm sends in data which is typed at distinct locations to fit the form. That is, for example, the name to be placed in the "to" field is positioned on the client's screen in the exact position it will be on the form. If there are a plurality of blank lines then a plurality of blank lines will be sent. This requires a great deal of data to be sent from the client to the fax vendor, who then superimposes the data over the stored form and transmits the facsimile to a plurality of different customer sites. Accordingly, this prior system required that a securities firm send a large amount of data to a fax vendor and spend a great deal of time preparing and formatting the data.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need for a facsimile system where the firm may send a minimal amount of information in a simplified format to a fax vendor, saving both time and money for the securities firm.